Tony let loose an impressive string of obscenities as he hit the steering wheel.
"Language!" Steve and my sister yelled in unison from the middle of the van.
"Cut him some slack, we're stuck in a clown car during gridlock." Clint retorted from his shotgun position. "Clown car" is by far the best description of our vehicle. There are three rows of bench seats and every space is filled. Natasha sits in the middle of the front row to keep Tony and Clint in line. My sister, Hailey, sits right behind her with Thor on her left and Steve on her right. I sit far back passenger side, with Loki beside me and Bruce on Loki's other side. We are crowded in shoulder-to-shoulder and hip-to-hip and everyone pretends they don't notice.
"Might as well get comfortable, we're going to be here a while." Tony remarked, nodding to the endless line of cars in front of us. As Tony and Bruce talked science, Clint and Natasha conversed while constantly switching languages, and Hailey, Steve, and Thor discussed music. Loki seemed to be thinking, so I pulled out my headphones and turned the music up just a little too loud. Once I was leaning on my hand, Loki did something unusual. He laid his head on my shoulder, wrapped one arm around me, and closed his eyes. Evidently someone was tired.
Loki may have been the first one asleep, but he wasn't the last. Pretty soon Natasha and Clint were dozing on each other's shoulders, Bruce had fallen asleep against the window, and Hailey, Steve, and Thor were napping in a heap. I must have fallen asleep too, because the next thing I knew Tony was driving down alleys and side streets on the way out of the city. I pulled one earbud out, but before I could ask what was going on Tony spoke.
"Go back to sleep, kiddo," he said gently, "we're going on a little adventure." With that answer I settled into Loki's grip to watch the skyscrapers in the twilight and street lights.